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Opponents of gun control argue that better attention to mentally troubled individuals will do more to prevent mass shootings than restricting access to firearms to the general population. But our columnist argues that there is little evidence supporting mental illness as a critical factor in acts of tragic violence.

Opponents of gun control argue that better attention to mentally troubled individuals will do more to prevent mass shootings than restricting access to firearms to the general population. But our columnist argues that there is little evidence supporting mental illness as a critical factor in acts of tragic violence.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a broad challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty. The court will not hear an Arizona contract killer's argument that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment and has become a "freakish" penalty.

Police officers still are killing U.S. civilians at about the same rate as they did in 2015, but attention to the Trump administration has forced police violence and criminal justice reform more broadly out of the headlines.

The 21st Century Cures Act provided $500 million to deal with the opioid crisis but three-quarters of it remains unspent. The law's two-year spending span makes it difficult for treatment providers to build long-term programs. "This is a total failure," says one expert.